By Tim Perera
sports@nonpareilonline.com
Iowa Western coach Scott Strohmeier said after Saturday's game with Garden City that it's his and his staff's job to get things figured out when they are going poorly.
Strohmeier has a lot of work to do.
The 18th-ranked Broncbusters beat the No. 15 Reivers 28-14 at Titan Stadium in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.
It was the third consecutive loss for Iowa Western — just the second time in program history that the Reivers had dropped three straight in a single season with the other time coming in their inaugural 2009 season.
Garden City outgained IWCC 342-198 and held more than a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession (40:42-19:18) while registering five sacks to none for the Reivers.
Strohmeier said the problems are running deeper than the team's 1-3 record.
"It's bigger than that. I didn't think we played with any emotion early on. I just don't think we're playing together. We can't continually have the same errors that we've had consistently through the weeks.
"There's just no fight. No fire right now. We've got to figure it out, or we've got to find the right people to give it to us. I'm going to play with guys who want to be out there in the fight," Strohmeier said.
Reiver quarterback Cam Thomas completed 12 of 21 pass attempts for 87 yards and one interception.
Thomas said he didn't think the team's struggles have been because of a lack of effort.
"I think the effort is there. I think the focus needs to be a little bit better. Everybody needs to focus on the little things instead of making it big," Thomas said.
ZaQuandre White was a bright spot on offense for the Reivers. He ran 15 times for 128 yards and scored two touchdowns.
He said a lot needs to happen to get the offense on the right track.
"I feel like once we all come together and play as a team, we'll start winning games. Everybody's got to hold everybody accountable.
"We've just to get everything right. We've got to get everything together. Everybody's got to be on the same point," White said.
Garden City opened the scoring just 4:20 into the game when Nate Cox connected with receiver MJ Link, who scampered 67 yards untouched into the end zone to give the Broncbusters a 7-0 lead.
G.C. made it 14-0 after Ramon Jefferson capped a 90-yard drive on a 4-yard touchdown run with 14:30 left until halftime.
The Reivers got their first break of the game when a bad snap and fumble on a punt attempt gave Iowa Western the ball at the Bronc 28.
But the IWCC drive stalled at the 4 when the Reivers turned the ball over on downs.
Garden City, which improved to 3-2, took a 14-0 advantage into halftime after outgaining the Reivers 203-73 and tallying 11 first downs to six for Western.
Iowa Western finally found the end zone on their second possession of the third quarter.
White ran it in from seven yards out to cut the Broncbuster lead to 14-7 with 7:29 remaining in the period after setting it up with a 31-yard run on the previous play.
But Garden City responded on the ensuing drive when Jadon Hayes scored on a 1-yard plunge after the Broncs drove the ball 90 yards in 15 plays.
Jefferson got his second touchdown of the game with less than four minutes to play on a 1-yard run as Garden City stretched its lead to 28-7. Jefferson had 91 yards on 26 carries.
White scored his second touchdown of the contest on a 1-yard dive with 45 seconds remaining to make it 28-14.
Iowa Western travels to Dodge City next Saturday.
Garden City (3-2) 7 7 0 14—28
At Iowa Western (1-3) 0 0 7 7—14
GC: MJ Link 67 pass from Nate Cox (Andre Dos Santos Aires kick)
GC: Ramon Jefferson 4 run (Dos Santos Aires kick)
IW: ZaQuandre White 7 run (Chase Contreraz kick)
GC: Jadon Hayes 1 run (Dos Santos Aires kick)
GC: Jefferson 1 run (Dos Santos Aires kick)
IW: White 1 run (Contreraz kick)
RUSHING: GC, Nate Cox 2-(minus)8, Jordan Ford 4-11, Ramon Jefferson 26-91, Ellis Merriweather 9-29, Team 2-(minus)1, Matthan Hatchie 1-(minus)21. IW, Cam Thomas 5-(minus)2, Shelton Applewhite, Jr. 4-(minus)30, Jayson Murray 1-2, Brian Snead 2-0, ZaQuandre White 15-128.
PASSING: GC, Cox 11-19-0 241. IW, Thomas 12-21-1 87, Applewhite, Jr. 3-7-0 13.
RECEIVING: GC, MJ Link 5-140, Bryce Parker 1-7, Toy'Von Johnson 3-43, Deandre Wallace 1-15. IW, Marcell Barbee 2-10, Deshon Stoudemire 3-8, Zion Perry 1-(minus)4, Corey Reed, Jr. 4-56, Marcus Rogers 1-4, White 3-5.
TACKLES (solos-assists): GC, Willie Hampton 0-0, Avery Thornton 2-1, Sam Moala 1-2, DJ McCullough 1-2, Anthony Jordan 3-0. IW, Tucker Kroeze 6-4, Devin Ruffin 5-4, Averie Habas 3-5, Devin Drew 3-4, Dominic Quewon 4-2, Keenan Stewart 1-4.
